Dog name choice reveals where in the UK you are from

You are more likely to hear calls for Hugo, Bailey, Alfie and Max in parks in Scotland, than you are in many other areas of the UK, a survey of the most popular dog names has revealed.

Data released by Agria Pet Insurance for the Kennel Club’s Eukanuba Discover Dogs event at ExCeL London later this month, shows a wide variation in the dog names that are popular in different parts of the UK.

Two of top ten most popular dog names in Scotland fail to appear in the UK’s overall top ten – Hugo and Bailey, which are at numbers nine and ten respectively. Hugo only appears in the top ten in one other place in the UK (the North West).

Teddy and Buddy, which are the eight and ninth most popular dog names in the UK, are shunned completely from Scotland’s top ten.

Bella is the most popular name in Scotland, in line with the rest of the UK, but the second and third most popular names – Alfie and Max – only rank at numbers six and ten in the UK overall. Scotland is the only region of the UK where Alfie and Max make the top three.

The top ten dog names in Scotland are:

Bella

Alfie

Max

Ruby

Poppy

Luna

Buddy

Lola

Hugo

Bailey

Caroline Kisko, spokesperson for the Kennel Club’s Eukanuba Discover Dogs event, said: “There is a wide variation in the dog names that are popular in different parts of the UK. Dogs are part of the family, so our choice of dog name is very personal and our recent research* has indicated that almost one in five people (20 percent) spend more than two hours on the choice.

“However, people need to give a lot of consideration to the right breed for their lifestyle as well, in order to ensure a happy and lifelong partnership, and sadly some people are spending less time on this than choosing their dog’s name. Whilst 5 percent choose their dog’s name on impulse this is 23 percent when selecting a breed.

“People can meet the huge range of dog breeds at our Discover Dogs event, or find out about them on our website, and they are all so different, so we urge people to do their research before they buy or rescue a dog.”